Chocoats {Redux}

I'm now 3 months into motherhood and starting to get into the swing of things. Right now my meal planning, food prep, and blogging have definitely been affected by our new addition. I am even more into leftovers because I don't always have time to start from scratch when she needs me. This month's Recipe Redux theme was: Favorite Chocolate Matches - Does your chocolate need a friend? This month’s posting will be after Valentine’s Day, so you may have a bit of extra chocolate around. What’s your favorite chocolate match? Be it traditional peanut butter or something more exotic like cayenne + chocolate. Show us your favorite healthy chocolate combo recipe.

I kept things fairly traditional and aimed to create a quick breakfast that could be reheated and enjoyed during a busy work week or for a busy parent with little ones (or for whatever else keeps you busy these days!). We know that breakfast is a great way to get energy for the upcoming day and a chance to get in needed nutrients. See below for my Chocoats for a warm way to start your day.

Oats are a great whole grain to start the day with and since it's heart month it's good to remember that they can help with cholesterol and blood pressure. Adding peanut butter and berries adds some fat, protein, and fibre to help get you through the morning. The blueberries add a bit of sweetness and antioxidants which are great this time of year when colds and flus are still going around. With the added cocoa and coconut I feel like this reminds me of the haystack cookies we had when I was growing up.

Chocoats
Serves 4


Ingredients
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp cocoa
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp peanut butter
Toppings optional (blueberries, milk, coconut)

Directions
1. Bring 3 cups of salted water to a boil.
2. Stir in oats, return to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 20-25 minutes.
3. Stir in cocoa, brown sugar, and peanut butter.
4. Serve with toppings of your choosing, or cool and refrigerate for leftovers.

Enjoy your weekend and the recipes below!
Steph Langdon, RD

An InLinkz Link-up

Fruity Oatmeal Cookies

I felt like something a little sweet today, so I pulled out that trusty Dietitian's of Canada Simply Great Food cookbook. As per usual for me, I looked for a recipe that would work for what I had available in the house. It just so happens that I had pulled 2 bananas out of the freezer yesterday and that's how I ended up making cookies with mashed bananas!

Preheat oven to 350F (180C).
Lightly grease or line baking sheet with parchment paper.

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/4 c whole wheat flour
1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips* (I used raisins)
1 c dried fruit (I used dried cranberries)
3/4 c flaxseed
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 large bananas, mashed
3/4 c liquid honey
1/2 c margarine

1. In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, chocolate, dried fruit, flaxseed, baking soda, and salt.
2. In another bowl, combine bananas, honey, and margarine. Fold in oats mixture.
3. Drop dough by tablespoons, about 2 inches (5 cm) apart, onto prepared baking sheet(s). Flatten with a fork (I didn't do this).
4. Bake in preheated oven for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheet about 5 minutes, then remove to rack to cool completely.

*Replace semi-sweet chocolate chips with butterscotch or white chocolate chips, leave them out, or use more dried fruit like I did.

Steph Wheler
www.nutrishus.com